This disclosure relates generally to a cooled gas turbine engine component. More particularly, this disclosure is directed to a gas turbine engine component capable of providing prioritized cooling at preferred locations (i.e., relatively hotter surfaces) of the component prior to cooling less preferred locations (i.e., relatively cooler surfaces) of the component.
Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. During operation, air is pressurized in the compressor section and is mixed with fuel and burned in the combustor section to generate hot combustion gases. The hot combustion gases are communicated through the turbine section, which extracts energy from the hot combustion gases to power the compressor section and other gas turbine engine loads.
Both the compressor and turbine sections of a gas turbine engine may include alternating rows of rotating blades and stationary vanes that extend into the core flow path of the gas turbine engine. For example, in the turbine section, turbine blades rotate to extract energy from the hot combustion gases. The turbine vanes direct the combustion gases at a preferred angle of entry into the downstream row of blades. Blades and vanes are examples of components that may need cooled by a dedicated source of cooling air in order to withstand the relatively high temperatures of the hot combustion gases they are exposed to.